Protocol signed: ‘New road map’ in Türkiye-Russia economic relations
Such developments also followed closely by the Russian investors plan for company registration in Turkey.While the Turkey-Russia 18th Term Joint Commission Protocol was signed in Ankara, Minister of Commerce Ömer Bolat said, “We can describe the protocol as a road map that determines the route that Turkey and Russia economic relations will follow in the coming years.” made a statement.
The 18th Term Meeting of the Intergovernmental Joint Commission on Turkey-Russia Trade and Economic Cooperation was held at the Ministry of Commerce.
Following the meeting, the 18th Term Joint Commission Protocol was signed by Minister of Trade Ömer Bolat and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak.
In his speech at the signing ceremony, Bolat stated that they wanted to take the relations of the two countries to a further level by implementing the articles in the protocol text that emerged as a result of their joint work, and said, “The protocol includes trade, customs, energy, agriculture, industry, standardization, transportation, tourism, contracting , etc. “There are many headings. We can describe the protocol as a road map that determines the route that Turkey and Russia’s economic relations will follow in the coming years.” he said.
Underlining that the main factors that determine Turkey’s relations with Russia are historical ties, good neighborly relations, common interests and the ability to make independent decisions, Bolat emphasized that, accordingly, they will continue their efforts to contribute to the increase in the welfare level of the people of the two countries by accelerating mutual steps.
Bolat pointed out that the two countries have made considerable progress in the fields of trade, tourism and energy in recent years and said, “Our bilateral trade volume, which was only 33 billion dollars in 2013, exceeded 68 billion dollars by the end of 2022. By the end of this year, approximately more than 6 million Russian tourists will be in our country . ” “Both sides are making intense efforts to develop trade between the two countries in a balanced and sustainable framework and reach the 100 billion dollar trade volume determined by our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin.” made his assessment.
“We want to diversify our logistics relations”
Stating that bilateral investment and contracting relations are as important as trade and tourism in bilateral economic relations with Russia, Bolat pointed out that Turkish investments in Russia, worth around 3 billion dollars , make a significant contribution to the Russian economy.
Likewise, Bolat underlined that the 14 billion dollars of Russian investments coming to Turkey are also valuable for the Turkish economy and said:
“In this context, increasing mutual investments will continue to be one of our most important goals. Turkish companies have undertaken approximately 2,135 projects worth approximately 98 billion dollars in Russia in the field of contracting to date. Turkish contractors and technical consultancy firms will continue to further develop Russia’s infrastructure and superstructure. They are ready to contribute. We want to diversify our logistics relations in transportation and logistics issues in order to ensure that our products can be transported faster and safer. On the other hand, we will continue to develop joint projects on energy with our strong cooperation with Russia in the fields of natural gas, nuclear and petroleum products. “I wish the 18th Term Joint Commission Protocol to be beneficial, and I would like to thank Novak and his team and our technical teams from both countries for their devoted work.”
“We discussed the key issues”
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Novak also said that they had open and constructive talks today. Pointing out that they discussed key issues with Turkey in a broad format, Novak said, “We have determined the cooperation issues for the future. We have brought our positions closer on certain issues in bilateral cooperation. We are making positive progress in all areas of cooperation between Russia and Turkey.” said.
Novak stated that Turkey ranked second among Russia’s largest foreign trade partners last year and said, “Our trade volume has approximately doubled. The share of national currencies in trade is also increasing. We discussed with Mr. Bolat how we can increase mutual trade and expand our cooperation.” “We did.” he said.
Emphasizing that energy plays an important role in the cooperation between Turkey and Russia, Novak said, “The construction of Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant (NGS), our flagship project in the field of peaceful nuclear energy , continues. It is planned to provide the first electricity to the Turkish energy system in 2024. In order to obtain additional electricity, Akkuyu NPP “We are discussing the project of installing solar panels and wind power plants at the site… We believe that Rosatom’s experience in the field of peaceful nuclear energy can be used in the construction of a new NPP in Sinop. We are also ready to offer cooperation in the field of small nuclear power plants.” he said.
Cooperation in agriculture and tourism will increase
Novak underlined that Turkey is one of Russia’s most important partners in the field of agriculture and said that mutual trade in this field is increasing. Stating that Russia is taking steps to increase the import of Turkish agricultural products, Novak reminded that they increased the import quota of Turkish tomatoes by 150 thousand tons in June 2023, reaching 500 thousand tons in total.
Stating that they have also developed cooperation in tourism, Novak said, “Turkey is the leader with a 20 percent share in the international travels of Russian tourists this year. We will work on increasing transportation routes and cashless payment opportunities to further increase the tourist flow. Since last year, tourist attractions have been coming from Sochi to Turkey.” “Ship cruises are organized and are quite popular. In this context, we see that the tourist ship connection between Turkey and the Black Sea can expand.” said.
Novak pointed out that they see a significant potential for increasing cooperation in the field of metallurgy, pipe and aluminum industry.
Emphasizing that they agreed to develop cooperation between the companies of the two countries, organize commercial missions, and encourage the localization of industrial production, Novak said, “Increasing the trade of chemical industry products, including polymer and mineral fertilizers, and also implementing joint projects in the field of industrial products and equipment for ski tourism.” It is among our common interests.” made his assessment.
Mutual training programs will be organized
Stating that they have also expanded their cooperation in the field of education, Novak said, “Last academic year, 814 Turkish citizens studied at Russian universities. We are evaluating the possibility of signing a cooperation agreement in the field of higher education. Supporting Russian and Turkish education in our countries will provide further support for Russian teachers in Turkey and Turkish teachers in Russia.” An agreement was reached to organize training programs.” he said.
Novak added that he believes that the meeting held today will contribute to the further strengthening of cooperation between the two countries and that they will see the results of joint work in the near future.
